AGP to oppose Citizenship Bill in Assam Cabinet meet tomorrow

The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a constituent of the ruling BJP-led alliance in Assam, today said it will oppose the Centre's controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 when the state Cabinet meets tomorrow.

In a meeting of the AGP legislative party held today, a decision was taken to oppose the bill, which has triggered protests across the state during the past one month.

"The party has discussed the issue in the meeting. All MLAs decided and asked the AGP ministers to oppose the bill in tomorrow's Cabinet meeting. Accordingly, the three Cabinet ministers of our party will oppose it officially," a source in the AGP source told PTI.

AGP president Atul Bora is the agriculture minister, while his party colleagues Keshab Mahanta and Phani Bhusan Choudhury are water resources, and civil supplies and consumer affairs ministers of the state, respectively.

Despite being a part of the government, the AGP is opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 since the beginning and Bora has publicly said the party's official stand is it would exit the government if the bill is passed.

Bodoland Peoples' Front, the other partner of the ruling alliance, is also opposed to the bill and has asked the Centre to withdraw it for the interest of the state.

Yesterday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh discussed the issue with Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in New Delhi. Singh had said the people of Assam should not be apprehensive about the proposed law and any future step would be taken only after consultations with all stakeholders.

Meanwhile, protests against the bill continued today in many parts of the state with several opposition parties uniting under the banner of Left-Democratic Mancha, Assam, holding a sit-in in Guwahati.

The protest brought together other parties such as the Congress and the AGP with two former chief ministers -- Tarun Gogoi and Prafulla Kumar Mahanta -- from the two parties urging the Centre to withdraw the bill, which proposes to give citizenship to non-Muslims from neighbouring countries.

Social thinker Hiren Gohain, educationists, artistes and students joined the protest and vowed to carry forward the struggle until the government withdraws the bill.